Carly Kincaid may use the term "Radio Junkie" to describe herself, but she's also a voiceover pro you hear on corporate narrations and when you are put on hold. Her radio career kicked of in the late 90's and since then she has rarely veered away from a microphone.
In this episode, you will hear about Carly's passion for radio and voiceover work, revealing it's "in her blood." She talks about how her favourite radio host growing up was Rick Sadler, and they saw him in a restaurant without realizing it was him until after the fact, and despite her parents' disapproval, and she eventually went back to school to pursue a degree in broadcasting. You'll also hear about working with Steve Jones, what life was like with the radio station positioned inside the world's second largest shopping mall, and how she built her own recording studio from scratch.
We might have touched on AI as well and what it means for radio and voiceover talent.
Carly's first concert was going to be Debbie Gibson... until it became Candi & and the Backbeat. Whatever happened to Candi? She dropped by Boom 97.3 to talk about what it was like the first time she heard her song "Under Your Spell" on the radio.
Wanna see our downloads? Of course you are because you are snoopy and nosey. We added the Sound Off Podcast to the The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out our downloads here.
We also mention David Tyler in this episode. He is the voice of CTV News in Canada and he is also a voiceover coach. If you are a voice actor, sign up for his newsletter and periodically there will be invites to OFFICE HOURS where we call get together to talk voiceover.
And while we are still on voiceover people and talent, Carly also mentioned the name of Uncle Roy Yorkelson who will help voice actors with their home setups, or demos.
And finally, there was mention of VO Atlanta in this episode. That is a voiceover conference taking place in March 7-10. Yes it is worth it.
TRANSCRIPTION
Tara Sands (Voiceover) 00:02
The Sound Off Podcast. The show about podcast and broadcast starts now.
Matt Cundill 00:13
About once a month, I meet my voice over group, which is chaired and run by David Tyler, who you might know as the voice of CTV News in Canada. By the way, you can do so as well if you're in voiceover, and if you sign up for his newsletter. Anyhow, Carly Kincaid appeared in the meeting and I thought, whatever happened to Carly Kincaid after I left Edmonton over 20 years ago? Turns out voiceover, and lots more. Carly is very versatile. She started in radio before the turn of the millennium, did some TV, did some radio from a helicopter, built a home studio to do voice work, and got a RodeCaster. All the boxes appear checked. Now, Carly Kincaid joins me from her voice studio in Edmonton, Alberta.
Carly Kincaid 01:01
I was born a radio geek. Like I remember when I was probably 11 or 12 years old, watching TV, and I'd have my radio beside me and I'd have the cassette in it. And I'd need to push record because I might miss something. I mean, I don't have a better explanation for that other than I think it's just in my blood.
Matt Cundill 01:20
So what were you listening for? Commercials or jock talk or songs?
Carly Kincaid 01:25
Mostly talking. But then if I had favorite songs, that too, but I wanted to hear what they would say.
Matt Cundill 01:31
Who is they? And specifically, we want call letters and names.
Carly Kincaid 01:36
At that time, I was living in Calgary, so it was AM 106 and Rick Sadler, he was my favorite. I would love to meet him one day. I saw him in a restaurant once and I didn't know it was him until after the fact, when somebody said that was Rick Sadler. I'm like, what?
Matt Cundill 01:50
Was that when the station was alternative?
Carly Kincaid 01:52
No, it was like top 40 pop.
Matt Cundill 01:54
Right. And AM too, to boot.
Carly Kincaid 01:57
Right? They had these like big posters with like, the countdowns. And, yeah, it was a big deal at that time.
Matt Cundill 02:05
What was the gateway drug to FM for you?
Carly Kincaid 02:08
Well, we had moved, and then I know AM 106 flipped or changed and did other things on that frequency. And then I think it was just a matter of what was playing, what I liked at that time, and basically what caught my attention.
Matt Cundill 02:21
So when is that moment when you say, I gotta be on the radio? And what did you do to get there?
Carly Kincaid 02:26
Well, I always knew I wanted to be on the radio. And my parents had a different idea. Because apparently, if you're not sitting at a desk and, you know, pushing numbers or something, it's not a real job. So I went to university for couple years, hated every minute of it, because it wasn't what I wanted to do. And- like it was just arts. And then finally, when I aged out of my parents, you know, having to control, you know, the funds and all that sort of stuff. I decided I was gonna go back to school, take broadcasting, and I paid for it myself. And it was fantastic. It was everything that I wanted. I went to Mount Royal in Calgary. I know the program has changed since, but you could do- you did radio and TV, it was one year of each. And so you got a good taste of both, which was nice, because, you know, sometimes for some people, you don't know early on exactly which way you want to go. And so it did give me a taste of both, but radio was still my thing.
Matt Cundill 03:20
What was the first time you got to enter a radio station, as maybe an intern or an employee?
Carly Kincaid 03:25
I was gonna say, when I won prizes, then I would go pick up the prizes.
Matt Cundill 03:28
Were you a prize pig?
Carly Kincaid 03:29
No, not terribly, but I was a kid, right? So you always want to call up and- and see if you can get through, and I don't think I won anything ever very good, but maybe some concert tickets.
Matt Cundill 03:40
Do you remember the first thing you won?
Carly Kincaid 03:42
Hmmm. Well, I don't know if this was the first, but it was probably pretty close. Do you remember Candy & The Backbeat?
Matt Cundill 03:47
Oh, my goodness, absolutely.
Carly Kincaid 03:50
I won tickets to see Candy & The Backbeat.
Matt Cundill 03:53
Wow. I thought about this like three days ago. I know why actually, I thought about it, because I was looking at a full moon in a Spanish speaking country. So the song Dancing Under A Latin Moon came into my head, at which point I thought, whatever happened to that band?
Carly Kincaid 04:08
Right?
Matt Cundill 04:09
And as far as I know, I think the band- I'd heard rumors that they broke up somewhere on tour in Truro Nova Scotia in the early part of the 90s. And then that was it. They just had the one or two hits, and off they went.
Carly Kincaid 04:22
Haven't heard about them since.
Matt Cundill 04:24
So did you go to the show?
Carly Kincaid 04:26
It was good. Well, so I took my next door neighbor, because it was kind of a last minute thing. And so she wanted- she was a little bit older, which was exciting. So we went together. But I was supposed to go, and this would have been my first real concert. I had tickets to see Debbie Gibson, also in Calgary. And it was like days after this Candy show. So I was thinking, oh, this is gonna be my first concert. And then all of a sudden Candy & The Backbeat jumps in there and takes my first concert. So.
Matt Cundill 04:51
Wow. You know, I think one of the Stingray stations, I- it's probably boom in Toronto, had her talk about the song. Y'know where they put the record on the turntable, and then talk about your song for about three or four minutes?
Carly Kincaid 05:03
Yeah.
Matt Cundill 05:03
And if I can find the embed code, I'm going to put that in the show notes for this episode so that people can go and reference that on the episode page. And if I've forgotten to do that, somebody send me an email and- and remind me. So when did you first get to a radio station and you started to get compensated for showing up for work?
Carly Kincaid 05:20
So I started in Calgary, and I was so fortunate because so many people go to small markets to begin with. And so I started in Calgary, and in Canmore, at like, the same time, because they were both Rogers stations. And so I was able to work in both and live in Calgary, commute out. So I was driving the station vehicle doing promotions. And then you know, I kind of worked my way up, hey, can you do the weather overnights? Hey, can you do this or that? And so I was there for, between the two stations, year or so. And then an opening came through the Rogers station in Victoria. So I went out to Victoria. That was my big move for radio, all by myself and didn't know anybody. And off I went and I was there for about a year also.
Matt Cundill 05:22
Was that a swing position? Weekends?
Carly Kincaid 06:08
It was evenings.
Matt Cundill 06:09
In Victoria.
Carly Kincaid 06:10
Yeah.
Matt Cundill 06:11
You've escaped winter. Congrats.
Carly Kincaid 06:14
Yeah, like I mean, that was a pretty cool thing. So now I'm eyeballs deep in winter, and...
Matt Cundill 06:20
I was working in Edmonton, but right around the time that you started, this is where I first heard of you. And I was leaving The Bear. But you came in and you were working at NewCap, I believe the stations were.
Carly Kincaid 06:31
Probably.
Matt Cundill 06:32
Yeah. Big Earl.
Carly Kincaid 06:35
Yeah, that's true. When I first got to Edmonton, yeah, I was with NewCap for quite a bunch of years, actually. And there were a bunch of evolutions with the station, and started out on 99th Street and then moved to West Edmonton Mall, which was quite a fun thing. The things that we could do in that mall, like riding segways up and down. And you know, just some very cool things that otherwise you wouldn't get an experience like.
Matt Cundill 06:58
There's a hockey rink in there.
Carly Kincaid 07:00
There is.
Matt Cundill 07:01
What about people coming and dropping by to say hi? Was it- was there more of that?
Carly Kincaid 07:05
Yeah, I think it happened more in the early days of the stations being there than it does now. But yeah, people would come by, you'd open up the front door, like just into the mall, and people could walk in, or you could shut it too, kind of whatever. But I think in my experience, if people want to talk to you, they're going to find a way to talk to you. It doesn't have to be in the mall.
Matt Cundill 07:23
But it's convenient, though, for those who don't live inside the city. What are you gonna go into the city for? We're gonna go to the mall. Hey, look, there's a radio station, we'll stop in and just say hello in between going to The Bay and Sears or whatever else was going on there.
Carly Kincaid 07:38
Exactly. And like there was a stage there. I mean, the stage is still there. But yeah, like so much great stuff. And just so many opportunities with them all.
Matt Cundill 07:47
I forgot about the stage.
Carly Kincaid 07:48
The HMV stage, that's what it was called at the time. And then the station took over the name of it. And- but it was yeah, the HMV was right behind, which was kind of a neat backdrop. If you had anybody come in, that you were going to, you know, have perform on the stage or whatever.
Matt Cundill 08:04
I remember Moist was there, in the- probably the early 2000s. And I think they might have done a little bit of a show and they did a signing, but the signing didn't go well. It became overwhelmed and the HMV had to close and clean up.
Carly Kincaid 08:16
Oh no. And I remember, this wasn't- it had nothing to do with me, but I remembered seeing- it was a talent show that was on that stage. And Ed Sheeran was in town, and he came up and sang with a girl right on that stage.
Matt Cundill 08:27
So you do like five some-odd years in Edmonton, who are some of the people that you worked with, that you learned from, or did not learn from?
Carly Kincaid 08:36
Steve Jones would be at the top of the list. I'm sure you know him. He's off in the East now. And I actually talked to him on email just a couple days ago. Fantastic. And his mind is just so smart. And such a kind man. So he is somebody- I mean, he was the one that brought me to Edmonton in the first place. And the fact that we can still be in touch, and I think that that's pretty awesome.
Matt Cundill 08:58
First time I met Steve was at the mall. I think it was Reds. And- or one of the places in the mall we could play pool, but I just want everybody to know that Edmonton is more than just meeting at the mall.
Carly Kincaid 09:09
What? I don't know what you're talking about.
Matt Cundill 09:13
It's a big- I mean, it's a big city. Right?
Carly Kincaid 09:16
It is, yeah.
Matt Cundill 09:17
Can you speak to, for a moment, about how competitive it is? Because a lot of people, when they went through that in that era, it's like all these radio stations popping up all over the place.
Carly Kincaid 09:25
There are so many stations. I don't even know how many at the moment. But we always talked about how many pieces that the pie would have to get cut into. And they're all so tiny and skinny, because there's just so many stations. So yeah, it is- it is very competitive. But the whole scene of radio is different now. How much is voice tracked? How much is live? You know, it's just it's different than it used to be, where everybody had full time employees and everybody was there.
Matt Cundill 09:52
You've been pretty much fully ingrained in Edmonton since that time. Right?
Carly Kincaid 09:56
Mhm.
Matt Cundill 09:56
And you did leave radio for a period to do TV?
Carly Kincaid 09:59
Yeah. A small, small period of time, and it was a great experience. I went and I did TV at Shaw TV. And I did entertainment reporting. So that was kind of like, the other side of things in that, you know, I still got to do the, you know, talk to the Lady Gagas. And the, you know, all of these people that I got to interview, it was just a different sort of perspective. So I can- you know, it was nothing but a great experience. But radio is my jam. It's my thing. And I just feel like, I don't know who I would be without it.
Matt Cundill 10:30
Edmonton is such a special place. Can you speak to how special Edmonton is when it comes to communities getting together for good, for bad, more than just the Oilers and the mall? You know, charity comes to mind, for instance.
Carly Kincaid 10:44
Yeah, obviously. I mean, this is a mall radio story. But when Hurricane Katrina happened, all these kids in the southern United States lost their stuff. We called and said, you know what, hey, people, we need stuffies. Bring stuffies. And they brought hundreds of thousands of them to the mall, just because we said hey, you know, people need these things. And granted, you know, it was- it's a fun, you know, sort of thing that you're asking for, but it made a huge difference to these kids who inevitably got them. So stuff like that. I mean, obviously, we- we like our 50/50s and the money from them- from those go a long way. Yeah, I mean, you ask for something and people will come together for it.
Matt Cundill 11:26
It's funny- again, another Edmonton memory has come back. I went to the hockey game with Terry Evans one night, and he won the 50/50. And I was sitting beside him, I think he- I think he left with about 20 grand.
Carly Kincaid 11:37
Yeah, and another of our radio friends, Adam McHale. He won something at one of them, too. And it was a bunch of money.
Matt Cundill 11:44
And the 50/50 phenomenon- you know, it's more than 20 grand now. It used to be just, you know, let's throw a couple of bucks in. And now everybody goes nuts for it. I think the Oilers stuff can get up there into six figures easily now.
Carly Kincaid 11:54
Yeah. And then you get people who live in other provinces that are like, Hey, you want to go in on this? I'm going to Etransfer you 20 bucks.
Matt Cundill 12:01
Yeah, I think you can just buy some of them online, as long as you live in the province now.
Carly Kincaid 12:05
You totally can. Because I've done it.
Matt Cundill 12:09
I mean, you got to win tickets to Candy & The Backbeat, but you haven't won the 50/50 yet.
Carly Kincaid 12:13
That's right. That's my next thing.
Matt Cundill 12:15
And then you went back to radio, though.
Carly Kincaid 12:17
Yeah, it was my jam. It was my thing. After I'd taken a couple of mat leaves, it actually worked out really well for me, because I was doing an evening shift with Pattison. And it worked out so well, because I could be home with my kids during the day. My husband worked early mornings. So we basically could, you know, we hung out in the afternoon as a family, which would have been so weird if people didn't know what we did. Saw us all at the park two in the afternoon. But he was able to go to work in the morning. I went in the evening and didn't miss much of that kid time because they went to bed.
Matt Cundill 12:46
You're fairly versatile.
Carly Kincaid 12:48
I like to think so.
Matt Cundill 12:50
Yeah. I mean, you've done all the shifts, you can voice track, you've done traffic reporting.
Carly Kincaid 12:55
Yes. That was super fun.
Matt Cundill 12:58
It was a helicopter, or a plane?
Carly Kincaid 13:00
Helicopter. And it's funny, because when I first went in it, I'd never been in a helicopter before. And they're like, okay, well, you know, everything looks good. You look like you'd be good for this position. Let's get in the helicopter. Because some people might have a problem. And I had no trouble being up that high. No trouble. It's so funny though, because, you know, you need eight hands up there. You're working in the camera, you're recording breaks, you're looking up things on your phone, you're trying to figure out where you are, and you look down to look at your equipment. And all of a sudden, you're like, I have no idea where I am. You get a little disoriented. But it was super fun.
Matt Cundill 13:34
What do you mean by, work the camera?
Carly Kincaid 13:36
So because it was a traffic helicopter, we did some hits for Global TV. And so that would be on like the five and the six o'clock, there was the top hour news as well. But they're like, you know, there's something going on, go look right here right now. And you'd scoot over there and get footage for them of whatever was happening.
Matt Cundill 13:53
You didn't get airsick ever?
Carly Kincaid 13:55
No. And that's the fortunate thing. Because I mean, it's so easy. You could have like, you look down, you look up, you're here, you're there. And you're just kind of- you have no idea what's going on for just that second while you re-organize yourself. But I was really good up there. So.
Matt Cundill 14:10
I'm always worried it's gonna get windy, like don't have turbulence or something that might throw you off or make you scared or freak- freak you out would be the words?
Carly Kincaid 14:17
I mean, every now and again, you'd get a bump or something like that. But you kind of knew if it was rough. So it wasn't like it came out of nowhere. And you- I mean, your pilot was like two feet in front of you. And so you talk to them the whole time. And if they knew something was, you know, hey, it's a little rough, they'll let you know. And if we needed to head back for whatever reason, we headed back, I mean, a variety of things. Temperature, any number of reasons you could have to go back, but you know, we were always in really good communication. So I was never worried.
Matt Cundill 14:47
I would probably not feel too badly. If the pilot's good, I'm good.
Carly Kincaid 14:50
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And you always say, I mean, if they feel that they shouldn't be up, or if I felt for whatever reason we shouldn't be up, then we land.
Matt Cundill 15:00
What's the point where you stopped going into the radio station? Because the business has changed. And you can maybe voice track some stuff. Is it pre pandemic, is the pandemic? Where did you see it was going? When did you start to make some decisions about where and what kind of work you were going to do in radio, and maybe changing the relationship with it?
Carly Kincaid 15:22
Well, I've been doing voice tracking for- or sorry, I've been doing like commercials and VO stuff for a long time. So I had the studio setup at home. So I mean, it was an easy flip when I got a call that said, hey, do you want to voice track some of our stations? And I mean, again, it was a no brainer. I mean, I loved the helicopter. I loved the people, I was working with, all that. But at the same time, it gave me the freedom to be home with my kids, and shuttle them here and there and everywhere. So I mean, you have to say that that's the perfect choice then. So you know, I got that call. And I said, yeah, sure. And so that was the beginning of my voice tracking career, I suppose.
Matt Cundill 16:02
'Kay, so help me out. I did a lot of live work. Just live. Here we go. Maybe it wasn't all that prepped, maybe I wasn't exactly renowned for the most awesome show prep. But when it came to voice tracking, I told people, I said, well, I'll do it. And then I started to do it, and I go, this isn't very good. I'm not good at this. I don't feel it. And I just realized, I guess I'm just not good at voice tracking. So how do you change that? How would you construct the break in order to deliver it for something that was gonna be taking place tomorrow? Or even the next day after that?
Carly Kincaid 16:35
I never know what day it is. That's- like, right now I have no idea what day it is. Because, you know, I'm voice tracking for the next day. So I really put myself into, okay, what day is it now? You know, and you look at the weather in those places, and you say, okay, it's cloudy for the next week, and kind of feel like you might be in that location. And then you know, all the breaks are sort of different, like, you know, some of them are topical for that location. Some of them are- you can throw something in about an artist, if- you know if it works, or, you know, there's so many different sorts of things that you can throw in. So, I mean, I just kind of feel like I'm talking to whoever is there, you know, just like I would in any other radio. You're just not getting the immediate feedback that you would if somebody said, no, you're terrible, they'd call you up and tell you that you're terrible. So you don't have that.
Matt Cundill 17:24
Yeah, it took me to get into podcasts to really understand how to speak to people that weren't going to be listening in a live scenario. And I felt like I had to relearn everything.
Carly Kincaid 17:35
It's different. It is. Yeah, there's no doubting that. But I think it's the evolution now there's so much of it going on. And technology is allowing it and times are changing. So you kind of have to just roll with it.
Matt Cundill 17:48
Are times changing? I feel they've completely changed and there's no going back.
Carly Kincaid 17:52
Well, there's- Yes, exactly, exactly. It's just different than it used to be, you had this big board and you know, the phones and you know, everything was just happening. And now it's kind of like, alright, I'm gonna go get a cup of tea, and I'm gonna come in, and I'm going to do some breaks. And I mean, it's- it's a lot more casual, a lot more- your work life balance is a lot nicer.
Matt Cundill 18:12
So then back me up, outside of the radio talk that we've had, to the voice over part. When did you decide, I'm going to get a home studio, I'm going to do commercials and voice work from home? And what was the first voice work you did?
Carly Kincaid 18:26
Okay, I had done little things here and there, like for many, many years, and then it was probably about 12- no, yeah, maybe about 12 years ago now, where I was like, You know what, I'm gonna get some stuff set up here. Because, you know, when you've got little kids, and if you can do something extra, or- you just never know how things are going to evolve. So I don't want to call it a plan B, because it's not a plan B. But you know, you want to have something else in your pocket that you know, you could do if you needed to. So I got a microphone, I got, you know, the equipment that I needed, figured it all out, learned some stuff, and I've been going ever since. And like, I've been doing a lot of different sorts of things, too. It's not even just all commercial. I've been doing like corporate narration and elearning. And I've done a bunch of the phone systems, which is kind of neat. Thank you for calling. So that's sort of stuff, I've done a bunch of the books, I mean, kind of a little bit of everything.
Matt Cundill 19:17
You can't yell "bingo" until you've been on hold and you have to listen to yourself.
Carly Kincaid 19:22
No, I have not had that. I mean, I've heard myself in many other places, but never on the phone. transcription
Matt Cundill 19:29
A lot of people in radio think that they can do corporate narration, that they can do commercials and voice acting, because that's what it is. So what can you tell me is the difference between an announcer on the radio and reading spots for the producer down the hall, versus being in the studio, and voice acting?
Tara Sands (Voiceover) 19:29
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Carly Kincaid 20:23
Well, you are voice acting, you're not yourself. If it says you're a 25 year old female who's got, you know, one little kid at their feet when you're talking or whatever, I mean, then that's who you need to pretend to be, you need to kind of get into that character. Whereas if you're on the radio, it's more like, hey, this is me, this is what's going on in my world. This is what's happening, what I'm interested in. And I think people learn more about who you are as a person. Whereas if you're just- if you're doing a spot or a book or whatever, you really have to dig deep sometimes to not be you.
Matt Cundill 20:56
Do you do any of the pay for play?
Carly Kincaid 20:58
No, not- No. I've looked at all that stuff, and sometimes I feel like, oh, maybe I should try it. But I'm like, I am not paying like 500 bucks to potentially get an audition, like, no. So I mean, I've looked at them, but I've never got work off of them.
Matt Cundill 21:17
Yeah. And I- of course, I use an inside term there, for those who are voiceover aficionados. And that's- you pay a company, like voices.com, voice123, pay 'em 500, a grand, whatever it is for the year, for the opportunity to audition. And I did it for a year. And I think- it worked out to about nine cents an audition.
Carly Kincaid 21:41
Exactly.
Matt Cundill 21:42
Yeah, but what I was getting compensated for my time and what I was doing, versus the number of jobs got picked up, your voice goes into a pile of possibly 100 other people, and you hope that they even listen to it, and that they choose you. And it's a- it's a pretty weird process. And in the end, it's- can feel lonely and debilitating, I think.
Carly Kincaid 22:04
Yeah, I mean, just the competition, like, you know, you're going into this cattle call of- you don't even know how many people. And are you what they're looking for? Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe you just weren't fast enough in getting your audition in. So honestly, like, I have enough other stuff going on that I don't need that kind of stress in my life. Honestly, if somebody wants me for something, I mean, I've got an agent, and I've got, you know, a few other different organizations that I work with. And, you know, if they need me for something, they can ask me, and I shouldn't have to beg for it.
Matt Cundill 22:36
Personal question. What's the most lucrative genre for the business? Is it corporate narration? Commercials? Radio or TV commercials?
Carly Kincaid 22:44
Yeah, I mean, I don't even know for sure. There's so many variables, you know, how long are they? What's the turnaround time? Probably in the corporate narration world. But then you get- all of a sudden you get a big spot that's gonna run nationally, and then that plays- plays different. So.
Matt Cundill 23:01
Have you had the one gig that takes the family to Disney yet?
Carly Kincaid 23:03
No, I have not. We've been to Disney, but it has not been off a voiceover work. Let me tell you.
Matt Cundill 23:10
So what goes into a studio? Because- and I'm asking these questions, because there's people who are making decisions about a home studio and you know, what kind of microphone for a podcast, but you've got this elaborate setup for those who are, you know, checking in the video there. So it looks like you got a Rode microphone, and you've got some- some egg cartons on the wall, pr sound proofing as it were.
Carly Kincaid 23:31
Yes.
Matt Cundill 23:31
Okay. So tell tell me about, like, those purchases.
Carly Kincaid 23:34
Alright, so- well, ages and ages ago, I had a different microphone, and I just got this one for Christmas, which was awesome, little bit of an upgrade. And, you know, I've got a couple that, you know, I can go back and forth with if I need to. I've got a Rodecaster Pro which is dreamy. It- you know, it's got the sliders and the colors, and I can give myself applause if I want to. So that's always super fun. But I got that because it's nice to have that. But also, I can run phone calls through, which is, I mean, a huge thing if all of a sudden you're doing radio and they're like, hey, we're giving away tickets to... Can you call the winner? And even if it's voice tracked, you still have that capability to call people, interview people. And so that was the reason that I got the Rodecaster in the first place. But I just love it. It's- it makes me feel official. It's got all the buttons and things like that. I've got a full booth. It's like a four by four by seven feet tall or something, which I actually built myself because I'm a bit of a nerd. I researched on YouTube and all of those different places, and asked around and whatever, what do I need? How do I need to do this? And so I built these walls, and they can come in our- because I'm in the basement, they can come in our window. Everything fits through the window except for the ceiling, which I can get down the stairs. So if we ever decided to move, I can just take this puppy apart and take it along, which I think is awesome because you just- nothing is permanent in life, right? You get a different house and you need to take stuff with you. And when you build it in the basement, you have to be able to get it out. Yeah, seven years, I actually put the foam on styrofoam, so that I could peel them off the wall and take them with me. And of course, it's been here seven years, who would care anyway, at this point? That's how I started, with stuff on the wall behind me, but just kind of- I evolved, and I wanted something a little bit more, not even permanent, but just that I felt like this is my space. And I know that it's solid, and I don't have to worry about all the other stuff going on around. This is my voicing and my radio spot. So I come in here, and I feel like I'm actually at work, as opposed to sitting in my basement.
Matt Cundill 25:45
You've got a nice camera too. And I should point out that a lot of people have figured this out. I have not figured this out yet. And that's how to turn your phone into a camera. Because your iPhone does now a really good job of capturing video.
Carly Kincaid 25:58
Yeah, and well- and the reason I'm doing it that way is because in my booth, I have an external computer. So the actual computer's sitting outside the booth, I've run the wires in, but the monitor does not have a camera on it. So I just perch my iPhone on top and- and make it do the work. And it's genius. It really is. It knows, it talks to the computer, and it knows what I'm doing.
Matt Cundill 26:20
So back to the Rodecaster. Did you get the Rodecaster because of radio more than anything, or..?
Carly Kincaid 26:26
Yes.
Matt Cundill 26:27
Yeah. Was that a pandemic purchase?
Carly Kincaid 26:29
No, I've had it for a couple years- had nothing to do with the pandemic. I mean, I've had it for probably a couple years now. But it was so that I could run phone calls in. That was most important part of it. Yeah, and I just- I think it's a pretty cool sort of thing. And it's got features that I have no idea about, but I can turn on processing, and I can turn it off. So it depends what I'm doing. Like if I'm doing a commercial, I'll turn it off, and then run through my set of fixes after the fact. But if I'm doing radio, I can turn on things that give me a big booming voice. Or not.
Matt Cundill 27:02
That's nice, some nice processing.
Carly Kincaid 27:03
Yeah.
Matt Cundill 27:04
So I built my studio in 2016, and this is what I had for the phone. So you just- you might remember that from some production studios.
Carly Kincaid 27:11
Yeah. Yeah. I had to Steinberg that looked similar.
Matt Cundill 27:15
Yeah. I guess- I mean, the Rodecaster, I can't remember when it came out. But it was just so useful. But I still have the phone going here. So same technology is still powering it, I'm just not quite at Rodecaster mode yet. But I'm sure I'll get there one day.
Carly Kincaid 27:31
Oh, you'll get there. And then you'll be like, why did I wait?
Matt Cundill 27:36
Because once it- if it works, it works.
Carly Kincaid 27:38
Yes.
Matt Cundill 27:39
Until it doesn't work, and then... Yeah.
Carly Kincaid 27:41
And at this point, I've got- you know, my microphones are Rode and the Rodecaster is obviously a Rode, but everything talks to each other and it knows, and you know, in the Rodecaster, you say I've got this Rode microphone, and it's like, excellent. We're gonna process you like this. So I mean, for me, it's- it's easy doing it like that, because everything just kind of works together.
Matt Cundill 27:59
You know, the Rode microphone, I think- I had one, the same one, I think, that you had when you started. I had an NT1. I also had an NT2. It got a little bit unwieldy, I think, for my voice because it was- it would pick up all the growly stuff.
Carly Kincaid 28:15
Yeah. And that's the thing with microphones, like, I couldn't tell you to get one, and you couldn't tell me to get one, because they're also individual.
Matt Cundill 28:23
Yeah, I like this Rode microphone I'm using right now. I meant it to be my travel mic, but it actually wound up being my studio mic in the end.
Carly Kincaid 28:29
Well, that's the thing, everybody's got travel- travel sets. What's your travel set? My travel set is another thing that I built, it looks almost like- Well, it's a box and it's got like all the sides. And then it has a piece that goes over, but it's almost like a sleeping bag. I sewed it all together, and then it's got PVC pipes that kind of make a box, and- and then I can just put the computer in it, put the microphone in it. Put the thing behind me to- for reflection, and I've got it all in a suitcase. I want to get a different carrying case for it. Right now it's all in a suitcase.
Matt Cundill 29:01
You are missing all the fun of hotel pillow forts.
Carly Kincaid 29:05
I know, I know. And apparently cars are really good too, you- if you go in your car, the acoustics are fantastic.
Matt Cundill 29:12
Yes.
Carly Kincaid 29:13
But I haven't done that either.
Matt Cundill 29:15
I just came back from a nice Spanish speaking country where I was dancing under a Latin moon. And there was- I had two microphones with me, one was Apogee 96k, just a small little one. But it picks up so much noise. It's really only good if you are in a car, but I'm not in a car. I'm in a hotel room. And so what I wound up using was a Zoom 5, Zoom H5 recorder, which was supposed to be for podcasting and picking up sound effects, but it does a wonderful job in the pillow fort. All that to say is I don't really have a very good travel setup, still, to this moment.
Carly Kincaid 29:49
I don't travel a ton, so I'm not too concerned about it. But one day when I get to be rich and famous and get to travel all over the world, I'll get something better.
Matt Cundill 29:57
Well that's too bad you don't, because if you really really want to book voice work in North America, you have to book vacation. And then- and then all of it will come piling in, and you'll have to do it all before your trip.
Carly Kincaid 30:10
I know, I'm worried about even weekends. It's like, okay, I got stuff to do. I can't go anywhere this weekend.
Matt Cundill 30:14
AI. Does it worry you?
Carly Kincaid 30:16
A little bit. When you hear of radio stations that are doing AI announcers, things like that. That's, I think, what worries me more than anything else, like you hear about, you know, they're doing spots, or they're reading books and- and stuff like that. And I think, you know, people can tell the difference, but when, you know, somebody says, I'm going to take this job from you and give it to a computer, like an actual real job? I don't like that.
Matt Cundill 30:42
Let me ask you about, like, the AI disc jockey thing. Do you think radio stations should disclose that the person on the air is an AI creation?
Carly Kincaid 30:52
Well, at this point, I mean, I don't know. I think you can kind of tell, but it's gonna get better and better. And then you may not be able to tell. Yeah, I mean, I- it's- it's a tough one, because I think it's dishonest. But if people don't care, then do they care, right? But I wouldn't want to listen to it. That's the thing. If I heard it, I'd be like, I'm out. You know, I can get my music somewhere else. I'm here to hear what's- what else is happening. And if you're giving it to me on a computer, that's not for me.
Matt Cundill 31:19
Do you do audiobooks?
Carly Kincaid 31:21
Yeah, I've done- I think I've done 17 now? 16, 17? Something like that. They're fun. They're a lot of work.
Matt Cundill 31:28
So you have to read the book before you record the book?
Carly Kincaid 31:31
Ideally.
Matt Cundill 31:33
I mean, that's a lot of time, right? So it should be a lot of money.
Carly Kincaid 31:36
No, no, it's not a lot of money at all. But it's an experience and it's fun. And you learn stuff, and you become a pro at editing. Because you're editing the stuff yourself. I mean, unless you ship it off to somebody. But when you're hired as the narrator, you need to send them clean audio. And so yeah, you get pretty good at, you know, taking out the clicks, taking- lowering the breaths.
Matt Cundill 32:01
What's your tool for editing?
Carly Kincaid 32:04
Adobe Audition.
Matt Cundill 32:05
Nice.
Carly Kincaid 32:06
Yeah, I started off with Audacity. And then I needed more from it than it could give me. Like, as far as, you know, the clicks and all of- all of the extras. And I'm like, I need to go to Audition. It's- it's what's happening. It's the best. And yeah, I wouldn't turn back.
Matt Cundill 32:23
Any plugins?
Carly Kincaid 32:25
Well, I think I have some. Uncle Roy hooked me up.
Matt Cundill 32:29
Oh, okay. Yeah, for sure.
Carly Kincaid 32:31
He does all my stuff when I have problems. It's like, I got a new computer. I'm like, Uncle Roy, you've got to help me. I don't know what to do.
Matt Cundill 32:38
You've been to a few voiceover conferences, yes?
Carly Kincaid 32:41
No, only online. That was one online that I did during the pandemic. And so I was able to do that. But I haven't traveled. I want to go to Atlanta. I want to go to, you know, all of the big ones.
Matt Cundill 32:51
Was that VO North you went to?
Carly Kincaid 32:52
Yeah.
Matt Cundill 32:53
I did a few panels there.
Carly Kincaid 32:55
Yeah. Yeah, it was cool.
Matt Cundill 32:57
It was- I mean, for what we could, but you know, here I was sitting exactly where I am now, and trying to moderate panels from here. And I think I did four of them. It was wild.
Carly Kincaid 33:06
Oh, yeah. I mean, that was my first experience with the- you know, the convention aspect of it. But I would love to go and actually meet more people and learn more things, and... One day.
Matt Cundill 33:18
I mean, look at it this way, you could, you know, go to VO Atlanta, which I believe is coming up in March. And then the day before, you can plan for all the voice work, because you're going to be traveling, right?
Carly Kincaid 33:29
That's right. And then I can work out of a pillow fort.
Matt Cundill 33:32
That's right, the pillow fort. I often wonder what housekeeping thinks of when they see a pillow fort randomly set up by an adult.
Carly Kincaid 33:39
Right? I saw, like online, somebody had taken a mattress and leaned it up against the wall. Like, what are these people doing in there? Meanwhile, it's like, some national spot that, you know, they hear every day and they had no idea.
Matt Cundill 33:54
Give a shout out to the station that you're imaging right now.
Carly Kincaid 33:57
I'm doing voice tracking strictly.
Matt Cundill 33:59
I might cut this out of the video, but give a shout out to the stations where we can hear you doing your show.
Carly Kincaid 34:05
Country 93 one in Timmins. I've got Today FM in Grand Prairie. I've got 98 CKHD and Assiniboia, I've got 105.1 The River in Niagara. I've got 102.7 Lake FM in Kingston. And I've got 98.1 Today FM in Lethbridge. And as of this weekend, I'm doing weekends on The Breeze, Edmonton.
Matt Cundill 34:26
Are those cue cards that you put in front of you to remind you what station you are- you're on?
Carly Kincaid 34:32
But it's got phone numbers and stuff too. It's not just- it's got everything on it so that I kind of can, you know, zone in on where am I? What am I doing? Who am I talking to? Because otherwise it's like, you know, I forget what my own name is sometimes.
Matt Cundill 34:45
Do you use the same name on all the stations?
Carly Kincaid 34:48
Yes.
Matt Cundill 34:48
Okay.
Carly Kincaid 34:49
But here's a funny story. So when I first went to Victoria, they said, okay, well we've got two new announcers coming. We're going to give you different names, and whoever gets here first is going to be this name. Whoever gets here second is going to be this name. So I think I arrived second, and I became Kaylee Summers, which I don't think is a very professional sounding name, unless you're in a certain industry. It sounds a little questionable. And not to mention that Kaylee and Carly were very close. So if somebody hollers, you're like what? Who? So that lasted for about a year.
Matt Cundill 35:23
And when you said the name, I actually went there, so yeah, I'll admit it.
Carly Kincaid 35:28
Exactly. Yeah. And I had to be that for a year on the radio. No, no, I'm a real, normal human being.
Matt Cundill 35:38
Carly, thanks so much for being on the podcast and sharing your secrets and stories. Oh,
Carly Kincaid 35:43
Oh, thank you for having me. This has been super fun.
Tara Sands (Voiceover) 35:45
The Sound Off Podcast is written and hosted by Matt Cundill. Produced by Evan Surminski. Edited by Chloe Emond-Lane. Social media by Aidan Glassey. Another great creation from the Soundoff Media Company. There's always more at soundoffpodcast.com.